[Long-term follow-up of polytrauma]

While there are numerous scoring systems for assessment of the immediate period after multiple trauma, hardly any studies exist on the long-term sequels of these serious injuries. We interviewed and examined 104 patients who had sustained such an injury 1-6 years previously (median 4.3 years). Our study revealed that the long-term outcome cannot be correlated with the ratings in a typical polytrauma scoring system. Therefore, we suggest a new scoring system that allows assessment of long-term results by taking into account accident-related limitations in three essential areas of everyday life: school/profession; basic abilities; leisure time/hobby/sports.